City of Terror 2! Recipe for Vengeance!
by JoeMavro
Summary: Over a year has passed since Joker and Scarecrow brought chaos and madness to Death City. Now Scarecrow is back with a vengeance, along with the Academy's most wanted enemies...and they're making their move on the happiest night of the year. Rated T for violence, blood, language, and suggestive themes.
1. Prologue

**My Soul Eater Timeline**

(Freshman Year)

September 1st, 1999...Maka Albarn, Soul Evans, Ox Ford, Harvar D Eclair, Kilik Rung, Fire, Thunder, Jacqueline O' Lantern Dupre, and Black Star join the DWMA.

September 7th, 1999...Tsubaki Nakatsukasa joins the DWMA.

October 1st, 1999...Kim Diehl joins the DWMA. Medusa Gorgon infiltrates the DWMA as a nurse.

(Sophomore Year)

June 26th, 2000...Liz and Patty Thompson are rescued from the mob and placed in the custody of Death the Kid.

September 1st, 2000...Tsugumi Harudori, Anya Hepburn, and Meme Tatane join the DWMA.

September 20th, 2000...The Death Bazaar takes place.

October 1st, 2000...Soul and Maka meet Blair, the cat demon.

October 3rd, 2000...Black Star and Tsubaki meet Mifune and Angela Leon.

October 6th, 2000...Death the Kid destroys the Pyramid of Anubis.

October 26th, 2000...Sid Barret is murdered by Shaula Gorgon.

October 31st, 2000...Shaula is slain by Tsugumi, Anya, and Meme.

November 5th, 2000...Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki are sent to Hook Cemetary to assassinate the zombified Sid and meet Franken Stein.

November 6th, 2000...Stein becomes the phasmology professor for the E.A.T class.

November 10th, 2000...Kid joins the DWMA along with Liz and Patty and is "defeated" by Black Star and Soul.

November 13th, 2000...Maka and Soul meet Crona Gorgon and are nearly killed by him.

November 18th, 2000...Black Star and Tsubaki are sent to assassinate Masamune Nakatsukasa.

November 30th, 2000...Eruka Frog frees the wolf man from Witch Prison and he adopts the name "Free."

December 1st, 2000...Maka, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki are sent to assassinate Free.

(Junior Year)

April 1st, 2001...The DWMA Anniversary Celebration takes place.

April 2nd, 2001...Asura is freed from his prison.

March 5th, 2001...Crona Joins the DWMA. Arachne Gorgon returns and recruits Giriko.

April 12th, 2001..."Team Maka" has its first successful Resonance Link.

April 30th, 2001...The battle for BREW takes place. BREW is claimed by Medusa's team.

May 19th, 2001...Medusa surrenders to the DWMA.

May 20th, 2001...Medusa is released from the DWMA.

May 23rd, 2001...The war between the DWMA and Arachnophobia begins.

May 24th, 2001...Medusa is slain by Maka and Soul. Mifune is defeated by Black Star and Tsubaki. Arachne is murdered by Asura. Asura is obliterated by Maka.

June 1st, 2001...Mifune and Angela move to Death City. Mifune becomes a freelance sword instructor.

October 31st, 2001...The Joker and Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow) return to Death City.

November 3rd, 2001...The Joker is killed by Stein and Crona.

* * *

Scarecrow limped his way through a crumbling corridor under the Heracles Theater. He and Joker were so close to beating Stein and Spirit, he could practically taste it, but a single powerful strike from Stein sent Scarecrow spinning through the air and into one of Death City's many channels. He could have stayed in weapon form and let the current carry him safely out of the city, but he returned to human form as soon as he entered a tunnel and a half-kishin ambushed him, dragged him back into the water, clawed his face, and broke his leg. He morphed his right hand into a scythe blade and stabbed it before it could do any more damage, but he wasn't going to get far in the condition he was in and he knew it. He dragged himself into a fissure and used some scrap metal to make himself a crude brace for his leg. He waited for three days for Joker to come and find him, and when Joker didn't come, he set out for the theater under the cover of darkness.

He made it up to the auditorium and saw a long pale arm sticking out from some rubble…Stein? He shoved the rubble aside and saw that it was not Stein. He stared down in disbelief at Joker…lying dead. He had a gaping hole in his chest that went all the way through and a look of total shock frozen on his dead face instead of his usual grin. Trembling, Scarecrow lifted the body by the shoulders and let what blood remained drip onto his tunic rather than let it leave a trail. He dragged it back down the way he came, through the sewers, through the city's mercifully empty streets and into Hook Cemetery…the last place Stein was likely to come looking for them. He set Joker down, used his blade-hand to slice the lock off a nearby shed, and opened the door to find four shovels. He took one and began digging, ignoring the pain in his leg as best he could. When he'd made a hole just deep enough to fit Joker inside, he rolled him in and covered him with damp soil. He then ripped the nearest tombstone from its proper place, scraped the plaque off, and carved a large crude J into it. Joker deserved better, but this would have to do. He set the stone over Joker's grave and dragged himself to Stein's house. He didn't have time to mourn his partner, he had to get far away from Death City, but there was one last thing he needed to do first.

He made it to Stein's house, looked in every window, and saw that he was not here. He was probably on his way to the theater to look for Joker's body right now. He had hoped to find Stein passed out so he could end him here and now, but he got another idea; he used his blade-hand to inscribe an encrypted message on Stein's front door…when decoded, it would read _Madness will tear death city apart._ He welcomed any opportunity to make Stein suffer and robbing him of a night of sleep was the best he could hope for right now. Without waiting for Stein to show up, he limped his way further away from the city until he spied a truck. The driver had stopped to have a cigarette, so Scarecrow knocked him out and got inside. The key was still in the ignition, so he took off, determined to put as much distance between himself and Death City as possible before it ran out of gas. As he drove, all he had on his mind was revenge. Scarecrow may have been the brains of the duo, but Joker was the heart and soul; Stein's punishment had to be spectacular…an inspiration, Joker wouldn't have approved of anything less.

 _It should be on a night that's very special to them._ He thought. _The anniversary of the founding of the Academy? No, Medusa did that._

It had to be a night that gave everyone just as much joy, if not more. And then…it hit him.

 _Christmas Eve…_

Scarecrow would lay low and return Christmas Eve…no… _next_ Christmas Eve. That would give him plenty of time to get some helpers and concoct a fool-proof plan. He would track down the Academy's most troublesome living enemies and with their help; he would take all of Stein's friends and allies out of the picture, leaving him all alone…just like Scarecrow was now.


	2. The Next Death Scythe

Scarecrow waded through a bayou not far from New Orleans and beheaded his ninth half-kishin this evening. As Jonathan Crane, he had consumed ninety kishin eggs during his time at the Academy. The fact that he and Joker were so good at hunting them was likely the only reason Lord Death put up with Joker's pranks for as long as he did. They started out fairly harmless, but got progressively more violent as the years went by…Joker was smart to leave when he did. Crane was left without a partner, so Lord Death considered dismissing him from the Academy, but Crane promised to work extra hard and behave far better than Joker ever did. Fortunately, he was more secretive with his methods of terrorizing people, so they went largely unnoticed by the old fool.

Crane earned a doctorate degree in psychology and a master's degree in the history and study of madness. As a teacher, he was able to study his students' reactions to what they were being taught while proving himself invaluable to Lord Death. As the school's psychiatric counselor, he was able to learn the fears and insecurities of the students who confided in him and study the strength of each student's will as he forced them to face their fears. He kept them from telling anyone about the experiments by means of memory-altering drugs. But the game was finally over when Stein broke into his private lab and found him pouring pig blood on a hemophobic girl. He tried to convince Stein that he was just trying to help the girl get over her fear (in truth he wanted to see whether or not she would die of fright) but Stein beat him senseless, rescued the girl, and reported him. Lord Death's trust in Crane was broken and he was banned from Death City and warned never to return. Of course, that didn't stop him from returning six months ago with Joker to conduct the greatest experiment in mass hysteria the world had ever seen and it certainly wouldn't stop him from returning again to punish Stein for killing Joker and cutting their experiment short.

"So, that's ninety nine…about damned time." his new partner snarled as he hopped down from a nearby tree.

The man's name was Giriko; he was a Demon Weapon like Scarecrow and one of the Academy's most wanted enemies. Scarecrow met Giriko at a cantina in Mexico not long after he escaped from Death City. Once they got acquainted and realized they had a common enemy, they formed their uneasy partnership. No one could ever replace Joker, but Giriko's hatred of Lord Death and his followers made him a valuable and fairly likeable ally, despite his impetuousness. Now they were on their way to an old chateau in the middle of the bayou where a pair of witches was taking refuge.

"Thank you for your _patience,_ Giriko." said Scarecrow calmly. "The chateau is not much further, you will soon get the challenge you have been craving."

"Hell yeah." said Giriko. "I'm sick of fighting normal humans an' miserable half-kishins."

Once they reached the chateau, the each took a different way in; Scarecrow scaled a wall and began crawling along the roof while Giriko busted through a window. He stormed through the living room, kitchen, and dining hall, kicking down doors and smashing furniture. He was about to head down to the cellar when he spotted a dark shape rushing into an ivy-covered greenhouse. He marched out through the kitchen and sliced down the greenhouse door. He barely got through the doorway when a huge vine of ivy reached in through a window, wrapped itself around Giriko's throat, and lifted him off the ground. A middle-aged woman with a lean porcelain face and oily black hair tied back in a bun stepped out from behind a column. She wore an olive-green Victorian dress with a slit going up the middle revealing her slim legs.

"Die, you human trash." she hissed in a sultry, yet venomous voice.

Giriko activated his saw-leg and shredded the vine. Then he spun on one heel and shredded more that the witch sent toward him. He then flipped over the witch and dug his saw-leg into her spine. She let out a bloody gargle and fell forward, dead. When her soul emerged, he grabbed it and gulped it down. He couldn't have cared less about becoming a Death Scythe, but a little extra power couldn't have hurt and a witch's soul was a rare treat.

* * *

Scarecrow meanwhile had sliced his way through the master bedroom window, slipped inside and crept up to the attic. He spotted an old crone with bushy bone-white and auburn hair dressed in a tattered black gown cowering in a corner behind four sickle-wielding corpses; she was obviously a necromancer.

"Death Academy trash!" she rasped, half fearful, half spiteful.

He sliced the arms and heads off her four undead bodyguards as they crept toward him and advanced slowly on the old witch, savoring her terror and helplessness.

"Please…" she wheezed, falling to her knees. "have mercy, kind sir."

"Kind sir?" Scarecrow sneered from behind the tattered remains of his mask. "Was I not _Death Academy trash_ moments ago?"

"No! I'm sorry!" the witch gasped. "My daughter and I…we never asked to be born witches! We only kill to survive…to keep our existence a secret…you can understand that, can't you?!"

The fear in her voice and eyes was genuine; Scarecrow could practically taste her desperation, but he could tell that she wasn't lying.

"I appreciate your predicament…" he said plunging his blade-hand into her heart. "I truly sympathize."

The old witch fell limp as he pulled his blade out of her and fell to the floor with a satisfying thud. After a moment or two, a pale purple orb emerged from her lifeless shell…so this was the soul of a witch.

* * *

Giriko strolled back into the dining hall, cracked open a bottle of bourbon, and started gulping it down. He then went into the living room and saw Scarecrow descending the steps; he had a faint purple glow around him which slowly faded. When he spoke, his once smooth, boyish voice was now a deep, morbid rasp.

"It is done, my friend."

Giriko grinned; this new Scarecrow was a definite improvement. "Are we finally ready, then?" he asked eagerly "Ready to tear those old pals of yours some new ones?"

"Not yet." Scarecrow rasped. "I need a few more allies before I dare to set foot in Death City again."

"Well, when I was with Arachne, she told me about one guy who'd be good to have on our team."

"Alright, Giriko." said Scarecrow, raising his voice to a slightly more pleasant tone. "I'm listening."


	3. Vengeful Villains

The moon gleamed over the Carpathians, grinning with demented delight. Free, the immortal werewolf with the Grand Witch's eye led his two companions, Eruka the frog witch and Mizune the mouse witch (formed from five identical sisters) up the steps to one of the witch community's old meeting places. Free had received an anonymous letter requesting that he come here at midnight and bring a friend or two if he wished; the sender did not specify why but promised that it would be worth his while.

"Why does it always have to be midnight?" Mizune griped.

"I guess because it's not too early and not too late…for things like this, that is." Eruka said meekly.

"I was hoping to spend tonight with just you and a great big bottle of booze," said Mizune, smirking snidely. "so let's just find out what this person wants."

Free zealously pushed open the chapel's ancient, but ornate doors and the three of them stepped into the center…the only spot that wasn't bathed in shadow.

"I dunno…" Mizune sneered. "I'm starting to think this is a wild goose chase."

Free turned around to face the girls.

"Wild goose chase?" he asked, bewildered. "The letter didn't say anything about geese!"

Mizune let out an exasperated sigh and Eruka let out a weak giggle, probably just trying to dilute the tension. Mizune was about to head back outside when a gravelly voice said "Good evening."

A man of about average height stepped out of the shadows; he had a very lean build and wore a hooded dark brown coat and a crudely stitched burlap mask that clung to his face, exposing only his ravaged lips and his ghostly blue eyes. A moment later, another man stepped into the light next to him; all three recognized him as Giriko, one of the late Arachne's top lieutenants.

"Thank you for coming, Free." said the masked man. "You may call me Scarecrow. And who might your charming friends be?"

"This here's Eruka…" said Free gesturing to Eruka, "and the cranky one's Mizune."

"So what's with that mask?" Mizune sneered, refusing to take even one step toward the man called Scarecrow. "You some kind of creeper?"

"Uh…don't mind her." Eruka said apprehensively.

"I assure you; you have nothing to fear from us." said Scarecrow, addressing Mizune, Free, and Eruka. "We are your allies."

"That's why you invited me here," asked Free, "to form some kind of alliance?"

"Indeed." said Scarecrow, lowering his head in a subtle nod. "You see, each of us shares a common enemy…an enemy that strikes at us from the shadows…that keeps us afraid and keeps us from living our lives to the fullest…I of course refer to Lord Death and his minions."

"You want us to team up with you against the Academy?" said Eruka, gulping.

"I dunno," said Mizune. "We tried that once and the person we teamed up with ended up dead…pretty disappointing."

"Medusa…I know." said Scarecrow. "But I was with the Academy much longer than she was…I know Lord Death and those who benefited from his training quite well. Cooperate with me, and together we can create a fool-proof plan that plays to each of our strengths. We can use the data we collect over time to anticipate every possible contingency."

"That's pretty much what we did with Medusa." said Free, scratching his head. "But those academy students are tougher then you'd think."

"But you all got away with your lives when her plan failed, did you not?" asked Scarecrow, his demeanor slowly becoming more charismatic.

"Actually, her plan didn't fail." Free readily admitted. "The Kishin got brought back just like she wanted…The Reaper's students just made it a little harder than it was supposed to be."

"And those very students will be our targets…" said Scarecrow. "or rather, they will be _yours_. I already have my own."

"Say we go along with this plan of yours," said Mizune, her skepticism persisting. "When would we be making our move?"

"Christmas Eve." rasped Scarecrow, a malignant grin forming beneath his deathly mask.

All three looked taken aback for a moment, but then it was Mizune's turn to grin.

"I like the way you think, Bag Face." she snickered. "You can count me in!"

"I'm pretty good at infiltration, so I'll help too." said Eruka, finally sounding cheerful.

"I'd love another chance to get those brats outta my hair." said Free. "An' we've got a few months before December, so that gives us plenty of time…more than we had with Medusa. You can count me in too."

"…and me as well." said a derisive voice from the shadows.

Mosquito, Arachne's most loyal servant crept into the light, looking rather dishevelled.

"You little parasite." Giriko snarled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Not that it's any business of yours…" said Mosquito with equal contempt. "But this chapel holds many fond memories for me. I spent a few wonderful nights here with Lady Arachne before her exile."

"You don't say…" Giriko grinned, Scarecrow made a noise of disapproval at his teasing.

"I cherished my relationship with Lady Arachne…one-sided as it was." said Mosquito, sounding about as human as a creature like him could possibly sound. "But Asura took her from me…and then Maka Albarn killed him!"

Mosquito lifted his head and looked Scarecrow in the eye for the first time.

"I don't know what possessed Asura to do what he did, but I'm sure Lord Death or his followers had something to do with it!"

"So, Mr. Mosquito, isn't it?" Scarecrow asked and Mosquito gave a curt nod. "Are you ready to have your revenge?"

"Quite ready." Mosquito growled. "Devouring any one of Lord Death's precious little students would give me great pleasure…especially if it's Maka."

"Good." said Scarecrow in a decisive tone. "It is settled, then. There are many details to work out and contingencies to prepare for, but for now, I advise you all to start honing your skills. As for me, I have a lab on Poveglia Island. I would like you all to meet me there a month from now, so we can talk some more."

"Alright." said Eruka. "We'll see you in a month."

"Yeah, do us a favor an' don't bother us til then." Mizune added snidely.

The two of them then strolled out of the chapel without another word.

"Hey…" said Free strolling over to Giriko. "Giriko, right? I saw a little of your fight with the Executioner on Lost Island when I was working for Medusa."

"That right?" said Giriko, trying not to sound too bored.

"Yep, I could really use a sparring partner since my magic's a little rusty. Wanna help me out?"

"Sure." said Giriko, smiling for the first time tonight. "An immortal wolf-man's gotta be a better challenge than what I've been getting lately."

Giriko then left with Free, leaving only Scarecrow and Mosquito.

"I think I'll accompany you, if you don't mind." said Mosquito. "My scientific knowledge could be of help to you."

"I would greatly appreciate that." Scarecrow replied.

Things were going even better than Scarecrow had hoped. He now had an immortal werewolf, two witches, and a vampire on his side. His revenge was all-but insured now; it was only a matter of time before Stein's whole world was taken from him.


	4. Blissful Streets

Tsubaki strode through the moist cobblestone streets of Death City, a bag of groceries in one arm and a surprise for Black Star tucked into her coat. She was accompanied by the gentle samurai, Mifune, who was kind enough to carry the rest of the groceries. Snow was somewhat rare around here, and it really added to the city's beauty this time of year.

"Even though I'm Japanese…" she said sweetly, "I think Christmas is my favorite time of the year."

"Well, last I checked, Christmas was pretty big in Japan too." said Mifune with a chuckle. "Who doesn't love a holiday where people get together, give each other presents, and guzzle alcoholic eggnog, right?"

"But there's so much more to it than that." Tsubaki sighed. "The colors, the music, the caroling, and everyone's always in such good spirits. People who aren't usually very friendly tend to be just a little bit nicer this time of year."

"Hey, beautiful!" a giddy voice called from behind them.

Black Star was rushing up to them wearing his favorite polar bear hoodie with Soul not far behind him, clad in black save for a red scarf draped neatly around his neck.

"Mornin', Tsubaki." said Soul in a subtly cheerful tone rather than his usual moody grumble.

"Kid's throwing a big bash at the mansion on Christmas Eve!" Black Star said giddily. "Every student, teacher, an' trash collector who's gonna be here that night is invited!"

Black Star was also at his happiest at this time of the year, Tsubaki found it too adorable for words.

"Who else's coming?" she asked, addressing Soul.

"Me, Maka, Spirit, Kim, Jackie, Blair, Ox, Harvar, Hiro, Akane, Clay, Crona, Marie, Stein, and Sid." Soul replied. "Anya, Tsugumi, and Meme went to Aspen and Kilik went with his family to the Bahamas…Lucky them."

"You an' Angie are comin' too, buddy!" said Black Star, addressing Mifune.

"Sure." said Mifune, smiling. "Should we bring anything?"

"Kid says not to bother." Soul replied "Says he's sparing no expenses. Well, be seein' ya."

Soul headed home and Black Star took a bag from Mifune and headed home with him and Tsubaki.

"Kid's parties always are always a hoot." said Black Star. "Last year, he had big party for his birthday an' he got annoyed when everyone didn't take the exact same amount of the same exact appetizers…"

"Heh…sounds like him."

"Then Soul an' I tried to take over the music, he ran over to try an' stop us, an' slipped on a banana peel…don't ask me where it came from, I have no idea."

* * *

Little did the two students and their traitorous friend know, sitting on a bench, sipping blood from a flask, while pretending to read a newspaper was Mosquito. He was hiding in plain sight in one of his most powerful forms, a form he was unrecognizable in, his body from four hundred years ago.

 _A Christmas Eve_ _soirée at Gallows Mansion…_ he thought, _how sweet._

He called Scarecrow on a nearby payphone and relayed everything he had just heard.

"Thank you, Mosquito." Scarecrow said delightedly. "I believe I know what to do with our little _treat_ now. Concentrate all your efforts on Lord Death and his family. I want to know everything about the Death Family's activities; their habits, their morning and evening rituals, and any details you happen to overhear about this party."

"Understood." said Mosquito.

"I have just sent Eruka and Mizune to assist you; they should be there sometime this afternoon."

Scarecrow hung up and Mosquito began shuffling through the city, hands in his pockets. Scarecrow was a meticulous and considerate individual, not unlike Lady Arachne…although he didn't quite have her charisma, her stern, yet motherly air…her deep, womanly voice and seductive smile…

 _No…stop it…stop it…_

He had to remain stalwart and keep his mind in the present. Lady Arachne was a thing of the past and he could not allow his mind to drift back to her again. He'd clawed his way out of that pit of despair and would never go back. As he made his way to the residential district, he spied a family of three: a man…tall, slender, and broad-shouldered like him, a woman, fair-skinned and well-endowed like Lady Arachne with an infant resting against her ample bosom. He couldn't help but visualize him and Lady Arachne with a child or two of their own…

 _Damn,_ he thought. _It's harder than I figured._

"You okay, mister?" a familiar voice asked.

He turned around and his heart gave a small jolt of panic at the sight of Maka Albarn.

"You look like you have the holiday blues, or something." she remarked in a sickeningly cheerful tone.

"Oh…" Mosquito muttered, not wanting to sound antagonistic. "I was just reminiscing about someone I wish was here to spend the holidays with me."

"Oh…I know how that feels." said Maka, adopting a more sympathetic tone. "My mother can't make it here for Christmas…but she did say she'd be able to make it for New Year's Eve."

"Hm…how nice for you." said Mosquito, fighting the urge to keep his face and voice free of hostility.

"Well, I hope you hear from whoever it is soon. Merry Christmas!"

Mosquito watched as Maka gave warm wishes to the lucky family and headed into the small apartment building. He theorized that Asura took Lady Arachne's soul because he was having trouble beating Lord Death's students and needed more power. He was willing to bet that Maka was one of those students. That made Maka partly responsible for Arachne's death although she was also the one who generated enough energy to finally kill the kishin…so she was also the one who avenged her death…vengeance that could have been Mosquito's. Maka was little more than a pupa, so if she could kill the kishin, surely he could have. But revenge was like a work of fine art and could not be rushed for the sake of sentiment. He would drain Maka dry and watch as her mother came home on New Year's Eve to find only a shriveled husk waiting for her. It was going to be delicious…better than the finest and oldest of wines. It would be like emptying all of his pain and despair into another…that was truest and best kind of revenge.


	5. Preparations

Christmas Eve was in one week, and Death the Kid was giddier than Liz had seen him in quite a while. It was kind of cute, but also kind of annoying, although annoyance was something Kid usually excelled at anyway. She lounged on a recliner, watching a raunchy adult Christmas special, and sipping hard cider from her Panty Anarchy mug as Kid went down his list with Patty.

"We'll have Italian, Russian, Spanish, and American cuisine." he said. "And I've imported red and white wine from France, vodka from Russia, absinthe from Switzerland, and brandy from England. We'll have a dancing Santa, karaoke…hopefully Black Star's singing voice has improved since my birthday…and at midnight, there'll be fireworks."

"Fireworks on Christmas Eve?!" Patty gasped "That's crazy…I luv it! Oh, an' we gotta have a few mistletoes for the love birds!"

"Naturally." said Kid, smiling.

"Like those two really need an excuse to kiss each other." Liz snickered.

"In my mansion, they certainly do." Kid firmly replied.

* * *

Two Mizune sisters were in Gallows Mansion. For the past few months, they had been making quick trips to Death City to do some light recon, now it was time for the serious kind. The first sister was in the living room listening to Kid go over the details of his party while the second was waiting by Lord Death's mirror. Lord Death came out of this mirror at the same time he always did by means of an identical mirror located in the Academy building and went downstairs to have dinner with his son and his partners as he always did. She had a feeling she knew the perfect way to get Lord Death out of the picture, but she needed to consult Scarecrow first. When dinner was over, she dashed in front of Patty, who picked her up (thinking she was an ordinary mouse) and tossed her outside where her sister was waiting.

They scurried to the inn where Eruka was staying and told her everything. Since Eruka was the only one who could understand the Mizunes in their separate forms, she called Scarecrow and briefed him.

"Lord Death has the power to communicate with anyone in the city through the use of mirrors, but those two mirrors have been enchanted by him…that is how he is able to traverse them. You must make certain that he has not enchanted any others. If he has, you should have no trouble recognizing them."

"No, boss." said Eruka. "Just those two, we're positive. Oh, hold on, the others just got back."

The rest of the Mizune sisters scurried inside and they all merged into one. Now fully capable of speech, the fused Mizune took the phone from Eruka.

"Scarecrow, we found something in the Death Room. Looks like a Christmas present…pretty big…we're betting he plans on brining it over to the mansion and giving it to Kid. We looked through his office and found a note that said _eleven-fifty eight, get present_."

"Perfect." said Scarecrow. "One of you will destroy the mirror in the Death Room the moment he enters and another will destroy the one in the mansion before he comes through. What of those fireworks, have you any idea how many?"

"We found a receipt in Kid's office. He ordered a hundred and he plans on having them set off in the courtyard so they can watch from the ballroom. A hundred fireworks is louder than one of Eruka's mini Tadpole Bombs…easily."

"Excellent, now I want you to focus on Professor Stein." Scarecrow instructed. "Tell me of his behavior, if he seems paranoid, or troubled in any way."

* * *

Scarecrow hung up on Mizune and strolled outside the monastery he was staying in. When Mosquito first entered Death City, the first place he was instructed to go was Hook Cemetery. He was to look in the very center for an old headstone with a large J engraved on it, what he reported finding instead was a new headstone with a plaque reading _Joker_ attached. Sometime after the night Scarecrow buried Joker, someone obviously discovered his body and gave him a proper burial.

 _Stein now knows that my partner is dead, but has no idea if I am still alive…_ he told himself. _He knows what I am capable of without a partner, but also knows that I am not foolish enough to come back to Death City alone. After not seeing me for over a year, does he believe he has seen the last of me…or is he still waiting for my return?_


	6. Togetherness

After helping Stein build a mechanical bull and playing two rounds of Graveyard Escape (Stein's favorite board game) Crona was heading from Patchwork Lab back to Miss Marie's new house. Of all the students in the academy, Stein was most fond of Crona; both of them were very susceptible to madness and spending time together comforted them, made them both feel just a little more…normal.

"Ya know…" said Ragnarok, "We don't always have to do what Screw-head wants to do."

"Maybe I'm not quite sure what I want yet." Crona replied. "I still haven't quite gotten used to this whole 'normal life' thing, after all. Besides, after everything Professor Stein and Miss Marie have done for us, I'm happy just being with them…and you should be too."

As soon as they approached Miss Marie's house, she opened the door and watched with delight as Crona's new puppy, Prometheus darted out and leapt into his arms. Crona found Prometheus wandering the desert three months ago, missing an eye. He took him to Professor Stein, who gave him a crude, but functional cybernetic eye. He then trained him with a little help from Miss Marie. He took him inside, played with him for a bit, and set the table for Miss Marie while she finished preparing dinner, lobster bisque. When Crona first met her, she barely knew how to cook, but now she was a culinary artist.

"Is something wrong, Miss Marie?" he asked, when he took notice at the strange way she was smiling at him.

"It's just…you were such a wreck when I first met you, but now…"

She reached over and caressed his cheek, his face bore no sign of the scars Joker had inflicted on him two Halloweens ago, thanks to Stein's surgical skills.

"Crona…" she sighed. "I love Stein, all of my friends, and _most_ of my students, but you're the best thing that ever came into my life. You're the son I've always wanted."

"Wha…what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" asked Crona, wondering if something bad happened.

"It's called sentiment." Miss Marie replied. "It happens to people at times like this…especially women."

* * *

Angela just got back to Mifune's apartment after a little shopping with Tsubaki. Angela wanted an outfit for the party tomorrow, so Tsubaki let her pick out a little emerald-green gown. It was an appropriate color and it fit her chameleon theme. Black Star and Mifune were playing a video game in the living room, so she went to the bedroom and put on some cartoons.

"Seriously, not one bit of EXP?!" Black Star exclaimed. "Jeez, it's like they want us to waste our time grinding!"

"That's RPGs for ya!" Mifune chuckled.

Mifune was almost old enough to be Black Star's father, yet the two of them got along like brothers, Angela thought it was sweet, and it was nice to see how mellowed out Mifune was these days. Before he met Black Star, the Academy was the last place Mifune would have brought her since killing witches was kind of the Academy's thing, but there was already a witch here. Her name was Kim. Angela only met her a couple times, but she seemed like a nice person, like the exact opposite of what witches were supposed to be. She couldn't wait to see her and the rest of her friends at the party.

* * *

Soul and Maka had just finished a night of karaoke at _Heresy,_ a relatively new club that was quickly becoming popular with the Academy's more artsy and eccentric students. They both really wanted to improve on their already decent singing voices for the party and that was the perfect place since everyone there was so cool to each other, artists around here tended to sympathize with other artists, after all. Soul sang in a relatively low voice, almost baritone. Maka sung in a high, bubbly voice and really excelled in high notes. The two of them always complemented each other in everything they did, even in their wardrobe; over the years, Soul's had taken on a darker tone. Now, he always wore black with one other color, usually white, gray, or red. Inversely, Maka abandoned her black coat and began wearing a wider variety of colors, her favorite combinations being white and lavender, olive and ivory, yellow and violet, and plum and powder blue. She also abandoned her pigtails and always wore her hair down. If she didn't have such perfect vision, she would have gotten a pair of glasses, so she could have that sexy, smart-girl look.

"Everyone deserves their chance in the spotlight this year, so let's limit it to one duet." Soul suggested.

"Agreed." Maka replied. "Kid's parties are anything but boring, especially when Blair and Black Star are around, but hopefully nothing too freaky'll happen."

"Like what happened between you an' Blair last Christmas?"

"I told you to never mention that again!" Maka hissed, her face turning crimson.

"Looked like you were enjoying it to me." Soul persisted.

"You're lucky I don't have my lexicon." Maka growled.

"Anyway…" said Soul, diluting the tension. "You're not much of a drinker…especially after _that_ …so we just need to keep Blair on a leash. She gets one, maybe two drinks, and then she's done."

"Right." Maka sighed.

* * *

Scarecrow strolled into the monastery's small dining hall, where Giriko, Mosquito, Free, Eruka, and Mizune were waiting. He scarfed down the slice of Boston cream pie he was holding and asked if everyone had selected a target.

"My targets will be the treacherous samurai, Mifune and the wild boy, Black Star." Mosquito declared. "And if it's all the same to you, I'll take Maka as well."

"As you wish."

"I call dibs on the little reaper boy." Giriko snarled.

"I think I better handle Crona and Ragnarok." Free decided.

"I'll take care of the runaway witch, Kim Diehl." said Eruka.

"And I get the slutty cat-bitch." said Mizune with a grin.

"I've invited two of my departed partner's best men to deal with Sid." Scarecrow explained. "They likely will not last long, but once they've softened him up a bit, you're combined efforts will be more than enough to finish him."

"And you, Scarecrow?" asked Mosquito.

"I only have eyes for one…" Scarecrow answered in a low grumble. "The Meister who took my partner from me, Professor Franken Stein."

"You gonna need help?" asked Giriko.

"I assure you, that will not be necessary." said Scarecrow. "Once all of our targets are dead, you may all do as you please with their loved ones…and finally…when he has no one left to fight for him…and no one left to die for him…Lord Death, himself!"

Scarecrow lifted his glass, and his associates did the same.

"This Christmas Eve will be Death City's last, and by the end of this year…the Death Weapon Meister Academy will be history!"


	7. Christmas Eve Bash

"Not that I don't rock this look…" said Liz, as she and Patty emerged in matching red quipao, "but why are we the only ones who have to dress fancy?"

"Because, **we** are the hosts." said Kid, who was wearing a red Nehru jacket. "Even Dad's getting dressed up for the occasion."

At that moment, Lord Death emerged from his room. Instead of his usual plain black cloak, he wore a burgundy one with silver embroidery on the sleeves and mantle.

"How do I look?" he chirped.

"Fabulous, Dad." said Kid.

At that moment, two servants opened the front doors and the guests started pouring in. Absolutely everyone was dressed in the spirit of the holiday, seeing Sid dressed in a red and green striped sweater was both shocking and amusing and Blair was dressed quite wholesomely, save for the violet, snowflake-patterned open-chest sweater she wore. Ox and Harvar called in sick, so Kid promised to send them some party favors later. The Santa began breakdancing and two caterers began scurrying around offering small drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Everyone had been instructed to save room for a surprise he had prepared…his special brew of eggnog.

* * *

Scarecrow watched from his hiding place as the party commenced. The students were happy, the teachers were lively, and Stein's guard wasn't just down…it was completely gone. Stein was laughing, making jokes, guzzling absinthe, and loving it. Joker would have loved to be here right now, but he was spending Christmas Eve in the cold, hard ground…so either Stein or his loved ones would be joining him before the end of tonight. He watched as "Santa" stepped down from the stage as Soul Eater and Maka Albarn stepped one to sing _Oh, Christmas Tree,_ he watched as Eruka and Mosquito served the last guests who had not eaten or drank yet. Once Maka and Soul finished singing, a large mistletoe and tripod camera were brought out.

"Who wants to go first?" Kid asked loudly.

"Us!" Black Star piped up, taking Tsubaki Nakatsukasa's hand.

Everyone began cheering and whistling as Black Star and Tsubaki smooched under the mistletoe.

"Oh, please…" Scarecrow sneered.

Kid took two photos and handed them to the two young lovers. Next were Kim Deihl and Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupré, followed by Stein and Marie. Finally, Patty Thompson approached Kid, who began nervously backing away.

"Patty…Patty, don't you dare…" he chuckled nervously.

He tried to make a break for it, but Liz Thompson grabbed him.

"Oh no ya don't!" she snickered, spinning him around, so Patty could take him in her arms and snog him. Kid struggled for a moment, before giving in and putting his arms tightly around Patty. Scarecrow saw Lord Death slinking off, so he checked his timepiece and saw that it was eleven fifty eight. Beneath his mask, he grinned in anticipation.

* * *

"Everyone!" Kid cried giddily as the cute blue-haired girl with pigtails and horn-rimmed glasses brought out a tray of glasses filled with his special eggnog. "Time for some fireworks!"

Everyone grabbed a glass and hurried to Kid's side as red, white, and green fireworks shot into the night sky and exploded in the shape of Lord Death's mask. Everyone began sipping the eggnog, but as soon as everyone had drained their glasses, the ballroom was full of the sounds of glass shattering and people gagging. All around him, Kid saw his friends dropping their glasses and clutching their throats. His first impulse was to grab Patty, whose face was turning a pale blue. Maka, Soul, Spirit, Tsubaki, Marie, Liz, Clay, and Jackie were all on the floor, choking and wheezing.

"S-Stein, do something!" Kid cried in desperation.

"Don't bother." said a familiar voice.

Everyone who wasn't choking looked up and saw that one of the servants had removed his wig to reveal the face of Giriko. At that moment, the servant girl removed her glasses and let her hair down…it was the frog-witch who helped revive Asura. The Santa tore off his hat, wig, and beard…it was the immortal wolf-man, Free.

"No way…" Crona gasped, trembling from head to toe.

"You!" Blair shouted at the pink-haired witch who strolled into the ballroom, munching on a cookie as though she had every right to be here.

Finally, the curtains parted and one last home-wrecker strolled out to meet the frightened Meisters and helpless Weapons.

"Merry Christmas…one and all!" he growled in malignant glee.

He was clad in a dark brown, crudely stitched, hooded trench coat. On his right hand, he wore a gauntlet with syringes attached, and his face was hidden behind a tattered burlap mask vaguely resembling a skull, only his ghoulish pale blue eyes, his torn lips, and what was left of his nose were visible. Stein seemed to be the first to recognize him.

"Crane?!" he gasped.

Crane…that was the name of one of the two madmen who attacked the city last year on Halloween.

"Stein, my old friend …" said Crane. "You look positively shocked to see me."

"I knew you'd be back one day!" Stein snarled, his voice seething with hatred. "But I didn't think it would be so soon!"

"You never should have abandoned your guard Stein." said Crane, relishing every moment of the hell he had raised.

"I have waited patiently for this night, the night when I walk back into your life to take everything and everyone you hold dear."

"Like Hell you will!" Stein hissed, releasing Spirit and lunging at Crane.

Crane morphed his left hand into the biggest scythe blade Kid had ever seen and thrust it toward Stein's stomach. Stein grabbed the blade just in time and held it at bay as best he could.

"Your students don't seem to be enjoying the little treat we added to Kid's eggnog." Crane went on, his voice frighteningly calm, despite his struggle with Stein. "We designed it to attack anyone with Demon Weapon blood within them. They will not die anytime soon though; we will have our fun with them after we've dealt with all of you. Now…on with the festivities!"

Before anyone else could make another move, Giriko's boot collided with Kid's face, knocking him away from Patty. He then morphed his right arm into a chainsaw blade and tried to bring it down on him, but he rolled out of the way. Blair screamed as the other caterer (who's soul felt very familiar) threw her off of Maka, who was desperately clinging to Soul. Glowing whisker-like blades shot out of the pink-haired witch's fingertips and she skewered Blair right in the thigh with them. Free punched Crona, knocking him away from Marie and blasted him into a wall with a magic blast from his magical eye. The frog-witch conjured one of her tadpole bombs, but Kim jumped to her feet and judo-tossed her away from Jackie, she got thrown back further from her own bomb exploding. Two muscle-bound men with Kishin-egg souls crashed through the skylight and wrestled Sid to the ground. Black Star protected Angela, and Mifune darted toward the caterer as he opened his mouth to reveal a pair of fangs. He dropped Maka, grabbed Mifune's wrist and twisted it, causing him to drop the kunai he had produced from his sleeve. He then backhanded Mifune, sending him flying across the room. He was about to reach down and seize Maka again, when one of Blair's magic pumpkins rammed into him, sending him tumbling away from her. Another collided with Free and exploded on impact. The explosion threw him back away from Crona, who summoned Ragnarok and unleashed their Screech Alpha attack. Free rolled away from the deadly wave and it struck the vampire, pushing him toward a window. Blair drove her fist into the pink-haired witch's eye and hurled two more bombs at the vampire as Crona fired a salvo of dark projectiles at Free. Kid–who had been clutching Giriko's arm, trying to keep the blade-part from touching him the whole time–finally managed to throw him back. He then got a few good hits on him with his Reaper Combat Art before suffering a deep cut to his shoulder. Another of Blair's pumpkins hit Giriko in the back, singing it, Kid then grabbed his head, slammed it onto his knee, and kneed him hard in the groin. Giriko fell back and swung his blade-arm again, slicing into Kid's midsection.

"This place is a little too crowded!" he shouted, clutching his groin. "Let's go!"

Each villain busted, sliced, or blasted their way out of the ballroom, as Crane continued to struggle with Stein. Kid and Black Star rushed toward them and Crane jabbed Stein with his syringes and ran for the nearest exit. He threw a large pouch at Kid and Black Star, which burst into a cloud of nebulous orange gas. He vanished and Kid and Black Star clapped their hands over their mouths and backed away from the gas.

"Are you alright, Stein?" Kid asked.

"Yeah," said Stein, "nothing I can't handle. But we need to get the others to my lab immediately."

"No, no…" said Sid, picking up Tsubaki, Spirit, Marie, and Jackie in his massive arms. "we'll take them to my place."

"Are you sure, Sid?" Stein inquired.

"Trust me, Stein." Sid insisted. "I've got this."

Hiro, Akane, and Clay were dead, sliced open by Giriko in the chaos. Crona had become good friends with Hiro, but he didn't have time to mourn him, so he picked up Maka and Blair picked up Soul. Stein picked up the Thompson sisters and Kid rushed to find his father, who he found still inside his mirror, which was almost completely shattered. He was clutching something large and circular, wrapped in glossy red paper.

"I'm sorry, son." he said. "A tiny pink-haired witch threw a bomb at the mirror and it broke before I could make it through, the mirror at the other end is broken too. What's going on out there?"

"Every villain we've ever faced came and crashed the party…the ones who are still alive, that is." Kid explained. "Everyone with Weapon blood, including Maka was poisoned, they're all being taken to Sid's place as we speak."

"Sid's place?"

"Yes, I suppose Stein's taught him a few things."

"Ever since last Halloween, the two of them have been together a lot." Lord Death noted. "What are you going to do?"

"Is there no way I can get you out of there?"

"No." his father replied. "At least one of the mirrors has to be repaired as carefully as possible and then enchanted again. That takes time you don't have."

"Then I'll stay and make sure no one comes back to damage this mirror further!" Kid swore. "Without my weapons, that's all I can do."

Kid sat by the broken mirror and began gasping, choking back sobs.

"Don't cry, my son." his father said softly, pressing his hand against the interior, as though trying to reach out for his son. "I know you feel helpless now, but you aren't…just wait…you'll see."

* * *

In less than two minutes, Stein helped Sid turn his studio apartment into an infirmary. Everyone who was poisoned was lying on a bed and hooked up to a heartbeat monitor. While Sid began extracting the infected blood out of them, Stein was pumping fresh blood back in. He knew every student's blood type, but this also meant they would be without their Weapon powers for a while. Stein's computer was hard at work, analyzing the poison, he doubted it would yield results quickly enough, but he still wanted to know what they were dealing with. He had just injected himself with an antidote to Crane's fear-inducing drug, but it took effect slowly.

"Where you going?" Sid demanded as Stein headed for the door.

"To find Crane!" Stein replied, slamming the door behind him.

Sid disposed of all the infected blood and checked to see that everyone was stable. Kim held Angela, who had her head buried in Kim's chest.

"Hey, Crona." said Sid. "What do you think would happen if we added a little of your Black Blood to everyone?"

"Well…" said Crona, thinking he knew what Sid was getting at. "Black Blood will protect them from ever being poisoned again, it may even neutralize any poison that's left in them now…but not everyone's mind and body can handle Black Blood. It could drive them completely mad…they're all so weak right now, it may even kill them."

"I see…" said Sid with a sigh. "Just a thought."

Crona watched as Black Star gently stroked Tsubaki's head, he watched as Kim laid Angela down beside her, then sat down beside Jackie and started caressing her hand. He watched as Blair pulled a handkerchief out from between her breasts, dabbed the tears from her eyes, and planted kisses on Soul and Maka's foreheads. He thought of kissing Miss Marie on the forehead or holding her hand, but what was the point? It wasn't going to make her wake up any faster. Suddenly, a loud boom erupted from somewhere in the residential district, followed by the sounds of screams. Everyone who was conscious rushed to a window and saw that several houses had been set ablaze and a few monstrous shapes were moving through the streets.

"…the hell they doing now?" Black Star demanded.

"Either they want to lure you away from your loved ones, or they're just tired of waiting." said Sid. "Either way, all of you, get out there and stop them. I'll protect the sick as best I can."


	8. Unyielding

Crona beheaded the remaining two of the ten half-kishins they'd encountered with one deft stroke of Ragnarok, who was currently in the shape of a longsword. Crona had abandoned his old awkward fighting style and began studying proper swordsmanship. He could come at his opponents fast and strong and keep them at bay without the aid of madness or dark energy. Ragnarok also learned how to take on a few new shapes. With their skill and versatility, they managed to beat Maka and Soul almost every time they sparred now. They came close to beating Black Star and Tsubaki a few times, and they even managed to hold their own against Mifune. It was a particularly interesting fight since Crona specialized in Western swordplay, while Mifune specialized in Eastern. Even though Mifune beat him, it was one of the most rewarding fights he ever had.

"That makes what, fifty now?" asked Ragnarok, as he gobbled up the last kishin egg.

"Yep." said Crona.

"We're almost there, kiddo!" said Ragnarok excitedly.

"Well, including the witch's soul, we're technically halfway there." Crona corrected.

"Ah, well, who cares about math?" Ragnarok retorted. "Let's see who else's ass needs kicking!"

"I think we should see if there are citizens who need help."

"Or you can play with me for a while." said a familiar manly voice.

Free plunged down from a rooftop in his werewolf form, black and green lightning bolts dancing around him. He fired a pulsating orb of black magic from his magical eye, but Crona willed Ragnarok to morph into a claymore and batted it into the sky.

"You always struck me as a waste of space, Crona." he growled. "But Medusa seemed to think you were good for something. I can't believe you left that behind for _this_."

"I have a real mother now…" Crona replied, parrying another projectile from Free. "and real friends, people who care about me. That's much better than stealing souls and trying to become a Kishin. You should learn to enjoy the simple things in life."

"I _know_ how to enjoy the simple things." said Free with a savage grin. "Taking what I want, eating whatever and whoever I want…doesn't get much better than that!"

Suddenly a whirlwind manifested before Crona and threw him up into the air but before he could land, a pillar of ice sprouted out of the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

"While you were getting soft and hanging out with your little friends, I've been practicing almost nonstop!" Free boasted. "Bet you wish you did the same!"

"Is that so…" Crona panted, getting to his feet. "Who'd you practice with?"

"I sparred with Giriko a little, then once I got the hang of my magic again, I went solo for a while. Why?"

Crona did not reply, but had Ragnarok turn into a rapier and zipped around Free, jabbing at him from all sides. Free growled in pain and took a swipe at Crona, who rolled away and leapt to one of the city's lower streets. Crona had practiced with numerous students this year, and he learned more than just attacking and defending from them. Free was a bumbler, but he wasn't stupid. He was a capable strategist, but now it was time to find out who was better. He darted through alleyways and underpasses, well aware that Free was never far behind. All he needed was a place to trap Free, he spied a warehouse, which he sliced his way into. As soon as he got in however, a searing ball of black and green flame sailed in and burst. The explosion threw Crona back out into the snowy streets, where Free was waiting.

"You may be hard to kill," he snarled as he picked Crona up by the hair. "But I'm the only immortal around here."

Crona Held out his hand and a skewer of hardened blood stretched out into Free's throat. He gagged and released Crona, who broke the bloody skewer free of his hand, leaving it stuck in the enraged werewolf's throat. Free ripped the skewer out of him and the gaping wound closed almost instantly. He then launched a small pulse of magic from his eye into the snow and a bowling ball-sized globe of ice formed. Free kicked the icy globe toward Crona, who ducked as it zipped over his head. The globe began rolling down a hill, forming a massive snowball which only kept growing as it traveled. It was Crona's turn to go on the offensive now, the veins in his wrists reflexively opened and he waved his arms flinging globules of blood which formed into a flock of bats that swarmed Free, slicing into him with their wings.

"Heh, Mosquito would be pissed if he saw this." Free remarked as he cloaked himself in green flame, reducing the blood-bats to black vapor.

Crona had Ragnarok morph back into a claymore and Free prepared to fire another spell before getting another idea; he ripped a nearby lamppost out of the ground and fired another pulse of green magic into it. In a matter of seconds, it was transmutated into a massive black steel battle-axe.

"How 'bout it, kiddo?" Free taunted. "Wanna do this old school?"

"Come get some, you ass-sniffing mutt!" Ragnarok shouted.

Free began zealously swinging the axe vertically and diagonally, Crona shifted, squirmed, and leapt away each time, he knew better than to try and parry. Free then began slamming the axe into the street, sending sprays of snow and chunks of cobblestone flying toward Crona. It did no harm to him, but distracted him long enough for Free to throw a mailbox at him. Crona sliced the mailbox apart just in time to block another magic pulse that Free fired. He countered with Screech Alpha and high-tailed it back to the alleyways.

* * *

Kim had her hands full for the first time in a long time…in battle anyway. Eruka kept throwing her tadpole bombs, preventing her from getting anywhere near her and she had no means of attacking from a distance. Thankfully her acrobatic grace kept her from being blown to bits. She leapt up on a lamppost and flipped off of it to avoid another bomb.

"Wow, you really do suck at being a witch." Eruka snickered. "Now it makes sense that the old hag kicked you out."

"Yeah…" Kim panted as she landed back on the street. "an' I never would have met my partner or any of my _real_ friends if she hadn't…not that I plan on thakin' her or anything."

"She has become quite a pain." said Eruka. "That's why Mizune and I left."

"Why sign up with Crane, then?"

"Scarecrow? Eh…he's cool." said Eruka. "Smarter than the old hag and treats us way better than Medusa ever did. Plus I couldn't pass up a chance to get rid of the–"

A light rumbling sound drew both girls' attention to a nearby hill. A giant ball of snow was careering down and showing no signs of stopping or even slowing. It plowed into Eruka and Kim dove to the left as it rolled past a damaged guardrail and plummeted into the desert below, taking Eruka with it.

"Thank God for small favors." Kim muttered.

With that, she headed up the hill as fast as she could without sliding back down.

* * *

Free prowled through the upper catacombs of Death City, following Crona's putrid scent. He had a feeling he was close…the scent was getting stronger. He doubted Crona would taste very good, so once he tore open his throat, he would just burn him to a crisp with fire magic.

 _Once Crona's dead, I'll start looking for Sid Beret._ he thought. _An' once he's outta the picture I think I'll chow down on that sweet young–_ "Ack-k-kkkk…"

His thoughts were interrupted by sharp pain shooting through his sides. He looked around him and saw that eight skewers of Crona's Black Blood were sticking out of the wall (four on each side) and had impaled him. Crona immediately rolled out from a narrow crawlspace and shot one last skewer from his palm into Free's magic eye.

"GAAAH! SHIIIT!"

The magic eye was torn out of its socket when Crona yanked his arm back and a natural eye formed in its place. Without his magic eye, Free was just an immortal werewolf and immortal or not, he wasn't sure he'd be able to avoid capture without magic, so it was time to split.

"You'll pay for this, Crona!" he snarled, tearing himself free. "This isn't over, so you better watch your back, sleep with one eye open, and…and brush after every meal!"

"Shove it up your ass, you mangy, ball-licking mongrel!" Ragnarok shouted.

* * *

Crona pushed open a manhole, climbed out of the catacombs, and heard explosions coming from the middle of the city.

"That's got to be either Blair or Eruka." he deduced.

"Hey, I just had a thought!" said Ragnarok. "Since we got rid of Free, let's go help Stein find Crane!"

"No, I'd rather be back with Miss Marie." said Crona.

He was about to head back to Sid's place when he heard his name being called. He whirled around and saw Kim running up to him, covered in snow and soot.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I ran into Eruka, but she's not a problem anymore. How 'bout you?"

"We just took care of Free." said Crona.

"Sent em' running with his tail between his legs!" Ragnarok added.

"That's pretty tight." said Kim with a smirk. "What're you gonna do now?"

"We're going back to Sid's place." Crona replied.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on Kid." said Kim.

She sprinted off toward Gallows Mansion while Crona proceeded to Sid's place. He was stronger than ever before, and as long as he had someone to protect, he would **keep** getting stronger.


	9. Vendettas

Blair was out for blood tonight. She followed a trail of sliced lampposts and carved up walls into the city's entertainment district, where she knew the mouse-witch would be waiting. As soon as she'd torn the little skeeze apart, she was going after that vampire. He put his hands on her sweet little Maka and tried to have his way with her (the way only vampires do)…she couldn't let that go. The trail ended just outside the park, so she crept in (in her cat form, for extra stealth) and began sniffing for the witch. She slunk past the hedges and toward the large fountain in the center, where she spotted the mouse-witch sitting on a statue of Lord Death riding a horse and brandishing a scythe.

As she prowled around the fountain, she saw that there were two half-kishins hiding behind the statue; the first was a bald hunchback with no lips, scabby gray skin, and surgical instruments for fingers. The second was a large man in a black Santa outfit with his face painted like a skull and a large axe embedded in his back. Blair didn't care to waste too much effort on half-kishin trash, so she conjured a pumpkin, sent it rocketing toward them, and _boom_! The two cretins were sent sailing and the mouse-witch leapt from the statue, razor-sharp beam-whiskers stretching out of her fingertips. Blair transformed and conjured another pumpkin, but the witch shot her beam-whiskers like darts and caused it to explode before she could throw it. The explosion sent her tumbling into a shallow ditch. When she sprang to her feet, she saw a dozen men (all prisoners, judging by their uniforms) standing around her with mixtures of murderous and lustful looks on their faces.

"Whoever brings me the cat-bitch's head gets a free titjob!" the witch declared.

Six of the prisoners jumped down in the ditch. One took a stab at Blair with a knife, so she flexed out of the way, grabbed his arm, and threw him into one of his peers. There was a loud, satisfying crack from their skulls colliding. Two others lunged at her, so she flipped into the air and brought her boots crashing down on their faces. She lashed out at the other three with her tail, breaking one's nose, one's knee, and one's ribs.

"That's a pretty sweater, cat." one of the prisoners taunted as Blair jumped out of the ditch. "Take it off!"

Blair drove her knee into that prisoner's groin, literally taking his breath away. Two more lunged at her, so she broke their teeth with a midair split-kick. She threw herself toward another and broke his jaw with a flying kick. She flipped toward one who was getting up and landed bottom-first on his face, breaking his nose. She stretched her tail out, seized one by the ankles, and pulled, causing the back of his skull to crash into a rock. The remaining one tried to make a break for it, but the witch shot a beam-whisker into his back, killing him almost instantly.

"Is there any low you won't sink to?" Blair taunted.

The witch didn't reply, but shot more beam-whiskers at her.

* * *

The cat-bitch took cover behind some hedges as Mizune flung her beam-whiskers. The hedges were shredded in a matter of seconds, but the bitch was gone, must have transformed again.

"Ya know…" said Mizune, hoping to get a reaction. "my mama used to read me stories about witches who bake little girls into pies. Maybe I oughta try that with Maka."

"Go to Hell!" the bitch spat, her voice echoing just enough that Mizune couldn't pinpoint her yet.

"Just kidding." Mizune snickered. "I'm not gonna do anything to her. But Mosquito is."

She flung more beam-whiskers, hoping to flush the bitch out.

"He's probably sucking her blood right now." she sneered. "Wonder who she's gonna scream for first."

A loud snarl behind her made her heart jolt. She whirled around and saw not a little black pussycat lunging toward her, but a black panther with glaring gold eyes. Before she could lift a finger to defend herself, the panther pounced on her and everything was painted horribly red…then it all faded to black.

* * *

Mifune (armed with a katana) and Black Star (armed with twin wakasashi provided by Mifune) were literally all that stood between this mob of half-kishins and Death City's only hospital.

"I don't understand how anyone can be so cruel!" said Mifune, as he skewered two for the price of one. "Don't they know there are children here?!"

"They don't care!" Black Star spat, as he flipped over two others, beheading them both at once. "They probably think our friends and loved ones are inside!"

Mifune pointed behind Black Star, so he turned his wakasashi around, thrust them backward and stabbed the remaining half-kishin.

"An' they're evil, what's there to understand?"

"Well, I suppose that's a matter of perspective." said a vaguely familiar voice.

A tall slender man probably in his late thirties was ascending the steps. He had slick black hair, fairly tan skin, and beady black eyes.

"Now, from my perspective, killing the woman I loved is evil…killing the one responsible before I get the chance…also evil…and being loyal to Lord Death, the one responsible for nearly everything wrong in this world… **definitely** evil. I imagine you have different perspectives, Black Star…Mifune?"

"Mosquito…" Mifune hissed.

"The old guy?" Black Star questioned. "This is him?"

"So, Mifune…" Mosquito went on. "You think hurting children is evil, I can respect that. What else is evil to you?"

"Forcing me to try to kill a potential friend," said Mifune, motioning subtly to Black Star, "and threatening to kill an innocent child if I don't do as you say."

"Hmph, I never actually said I'd _kill_ Miss Angela if you didn't kill Black Star and Tsubaki." Mosquito insisted.

"But you were going to, weren't you?!" Mifune demanded.

"Perhaps." Mosquito sneered, turning to Black Star. "What about you, Black Star? What do you think is evil?"

"Eating human souls, hurting people who can't defend themselves, oh yeah, an' poisoning the woman **I** love!"

"So, you really love Tsubaki." said Mosquito. "Can't say I blame you, she is quite an angel, isn't she? I bet her blood tastes heavenly too."

If looks could kill, the hate-filled glares Black Star and Mifune gave Mosquito would have reduced him to ash.

"Don't look so upset." Mosquito insisted. "After I've killed you, I'll just drain her dry while she sleeps…after I finish with Maka, of course. Neither of them will feel a thing, both will have far more dignified deaths than Lady Arachne got."

Black Star and Mifune rushed him at once, but he morphed into a swarm of bats that zipped and zoomed around them, slicing them with their wings and grazing them with their teeth. The blood-sucking fiend returned to humanoid form, grabbed each of them by the shoulder, and hurled them back toward the hospital's entrance. It took Black Star half a second to get back on his feet, but as soon as he did, Mosquito slammed him into the wall and prepared to bite into his neck, but Mifune hurled his Katana into Mosquito's back and Black Star slammed both of his fists into his temples, then kicked him hard in the chest sending him staggering back. Black Star snatched up both Wakasashi and flung one toward Mifune, who caught it just in time. Mosquito pulled Mifune's katana out of his back and began parrying his and Black Star's strikes with only split seconds to spare. He swung for Mifune's ankles, but Mifune jumped just in time and he swung vertically for Black Star's skull, but Black Star shifted to the right just in time. He then leapt high into the air, drove his foot into Mifune's forehead, and sent him headfirst into the ground, leaving a small web of cracks. He picked the stunned samurai up and attempted to use him as a human shield, but Black Star flipped over him, slammed his fist into his back, discharging his soul wavelength. Mosquito dropped Mifune, dropped the katana, and stumbled to his knees. Mifune picked up his katana and wakasashi and he and Black Star began stepping up their assaults. Mosquito evaded each slash and thrust with absolutely no time to spare, grabbed both warriors by the faces, slammed them into the ground again, and morphed into a swarm of bats again. The bats avoided Black Star and Mifune this time, and flitted to the roof as another mob of half-kishins entered the fray. Mifune tossed the other wakasashi back to Black Star and they began slicing and dicing every fiend that came close to them. One that was badly burned and clad in a black Santa suit charged toward Black Star with an axe, but he sliced the axe's head off and used both blades to scissor the fiend's head.

They rushed through the hospital and up to the roof as fast as they could and found Mosquito tangling with Blair of all people. Mosquito's fingernails had stretched into dagger-like claws and Blair's eyes were like balls of yellowish orange flame. She evaded his ferocious swipes and he evaded the vicious lashes from her whip-like tail. A single magical pumpkin flew from out of nowhere and struck Mosquito in the back, the resulting explosion throwing him toward Blair who kicked him toward Black Star. Black Star leapt toward him and jabbed both Wakasashi into his back as Mifune thrust his katana into his heart. He yanked it right out, producing a spout of crimson and Black Star grabbed Mosquito by the arm, swung him around once, and hurled him off the roof. They looked down and saw Mosquito rolling down the steps leading up to the hospital, leaving a crimson trail. Finally, he came to a stop at the bottom and two half-kishins advanced on him. One held him down, while the other ripped his soul out of his chest and gulped it down. Mosquito's body dissolved into black smoke and the two fiends looked up at the hospital. Before they could take so much as a step toward it though, Blair hurled a large pumpkin at them, frying them both.

"I feel sorry for the patients here." Blair sighed, the murderous look on her face fading. "They all must be scared out of their minds right about now."

"At least they'll live to see Christmas Day." said Mifune. "A handful of people weren't so lucky."

"This makes two holidays Crane's ruined, but mostly for us, this time." said Black Star.

"Stein should be able to handle Crane; I say we head back to Sid's place." Mifune suggested.

A distant crackling and a bright flash of yellow turned their attention to Gallows Mansion.

"Looks like Kid may need help first." Mifune observed.

"Nah, Kid's a Reaper." Black Star insisted. "He can handle whatever's going on over there. C'mon let's go see how the others are doing."


	10. bloodbath

Ox's flu was far from over, as was Harvar's, but the explosions coming from Kid's mansion and the flames illuminating the residential district forced them both out of bed. Ox still cared for Kim, even though he knew her heart belonged to Jackie, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to her (or any of his friends, for that matter) and he let a little flu stop him from helping. It was about a five-minute run from their apartment to the mansion, they were just over half of the way there when a pack of fiends got in their way.

"Harvar…let's do it." Ox breathed.

He thrust Harvar's blade forward and expelled a thick stream of lightning at the fiends, stunning them just long enough to run each of them through just once. He didn't even bother feeding their souls to Harvar, he just kept dragging himself to the mansion.

"Ox…" Harvar groaned. "Let's head back…please."

"Just as soon…as we make sure…that they're alright." Ox panted.

They just made it to the steps leading up to the mansion when they saw that the front door was wide open.

"I'm back, Reaper Boy!" a loud, manic voice shouted.

Ox sprinted up the steps as fast as he could, nearly tripping twice. When he reached the main hall, he saw a man with spiky caramel brown hair dressed in a white fur coat. He recognized him from the wanted posters as "Giriko".

* * *

Kid bolted down the hallway and out to the main hall as soon as he heard Giriko's voice. He looked down over the guardrail and saw Giriko standing over a bloody body. He leapt down and Giriko turned to face him. He could now see that Giriko's victim was Ox. What in the world could Ox have been thinking, coming here in his condition? Harvar (who was lying idle by Ox's side) suddenly returned to human from in a flash of yellow light and morphed his hand into a spearhead, but Giriko sliced off his weapon-arm before he could use it. Kid flipped toward Giriko and kicked him away from Harvar before he could touch him again. He summoned his hoverboard, rose up to his chandelier, and kicked it toward Giriko just as he got up. The chandelier struck him, causing him to stumble, but only for a moment.

In about as much time as it took to blink, Giriko's saw blade was inches from Kid's face, held back only by Kid's reaper strength. With nothing sturdy enough to use as a weapon, Kid had only his fist and feet to fend Giriko off with. He desperately punched and hammer-fisted Giriko's face, kicked and kneed him in the torso, but Giriko barely reacted to the blows. He hurled Kid away from his victims and when Kid scrambled to his feet he saw to his horror that Harvar's head was rolling away from his body and his mind was overcome with visions of Ox and Harvar's parents' reactions to their deaths, their parents blaming him, cursing his name, cursing the Academy. He was so paralyzed by dread that he couldn't stop Giriko's boot from slamming into his chest, sending him tumbling into a column. Before he could get up, Giriko's saw blade bit hard into his abdomen, producing spray after spray of blood.

"C'mon, you little shit!" Giriko snarled. "Scream!"

Kid choked back his screams and grabbed Giriko's arm, trying desperately to pry his blade out of him. He grabbed the chain with his bare left hand and actually stopped it running. He gripped the chain as hard as he was able, despite the razor-sharp pain and the streams of precious blood cascading down his arm. Giriko gripped Kid's throat with strength that would have crushed an ordinary human to a pulp. Kid reached up and slammed his palm into Giriko's nose, crushing it, but that only seemed to make him angrier and so he squeezed harder. Darkness began shrouding Kid's vision and his right hand felt icy cold for some reason. He looked at it and saw darkness swirling around it. Suddenly black energy bolts danced from his fingertips and Giriko gave a painful shout and released Kid's throat. Kid sent another surge of black energy into Giriko's saw-arm and he ripped it out of him. Kid didn't relent for an instant, he knew he was dead if he did. He raised both hands and sent a cluster of black energy into Giriko, forcing him to his knees, but Giriko got right back up and brought his saw-arm down toward Kid's face. Kid grabbed Giriko's saw-arm with both hands and gripped it with almost bone-snapping strength.

"What…the hell…are you?" Giriko hissed, the faintest trace of panic in his voice.

He drove his fist into Kid's mouth, knocking out one of his teeth and pulled his saw arm free. He then began hacking and slashing at kid in a desperate rage. Kid squirmed, flexed, flipped and rolled away from each strike, he jumped to avoid losing his ankles, he ducked to avoid losing his head, and he grabbed Giriko's arm again to keep the blade from digging into his throat. Giriko's eyes developed a crimson sheen and he began pushing Kid downward.

"Die, you little shit!" Giriko rasped.

Kid gripped Giriko's forearm with one hand and his elbow with the other, trying desperately to break it, but the blade crept closer and closer to his throat. In a few moments one of them was definitely going to die.

* * *

Kim jogged up the steps to Kid's mansion, her lean, yet powerful legs tiring slightly. Once she made sure kid was alright, she was done running around tonight. The front door was wide open, which she doubted was a good sign. She darted into the main hall and clapped her hands over her mouth at the carnage that lay before her. Ox and Harvar were in pieces and drenched in crimson, the maniac called Giriko was lying not far from them, his face sliced open…by his own saw blade, from the looks of it. Sitting in front of him was Kid, clutching his stomach and bleeding like crazy. She darted over to him, dropped to her knees, pressed both hands against his gaping wound and poured her healing magic into him. The wound slowly sealed and she helped him to his feet.

"Kim…I…" Kid muttered. "I tried…but…I wasn't quick enough."

"Focus on the ones you can still protect." said Kim, placing Kid's right arm around her shoulder.

"I need to let my dad know I'm alright, help me upstairs." he commanded.

As Kim helped Kid up the stairs, Ox crept into her mind. He was always such a pest, acting so chivalrous, trying to impress her, rarely giving her a moment's peace. He backed off a little when she and Jackie became an item, but he still would have run headlong into a burning building for her. He loved her unconditionally, that made no damned sense to her, but it was a moot point now. She forced herself to push him from her thoughts.


	11. Settling the Score

Stein had checked Crane's old lab, his old apartment, Hook Cemetery, the Academy building, and the theater. He could think of no other places that had any sentimental meaning to Crane and was at a complete loss as to where to look for him now. As much as he hated it, it looked as though his only option was to wait for Crane to come looking for him. He began furiously turning his screw, racking his brain for any place he may have forgotten when his ears were assaulted by a shriek of horror. He whirled around and saw someone hit the sidewalk with a sickening smack…it was Marie.

 _It's not real…_ Stein silently told himself.

"Help me!" a terrified, boyish voice cried.

Stein turned back around and saw Crona being chased by a chef-themed half-kishin he could have sworn he killed once. Stein watched apathetically as "Crona" was grabbed by the fiend and gutted.

 _That's not Crona._ Stein thought. _Crona wouldn't run from those things._

The fiend spotted Stein, yelled something in Italian and charged toward him with its cleaver raised. A scalpel slid down out of Stein's sleeve and he flung it between the fiend's eyes, and then ripped it out. The fiend fell to the ground and Stein began kicking it to see if it was really physically there…it seemed solid enough.

"No, I killed this one." Stein muttered. "It's a different one, it just looks like the same."

"Still talking to yourself, Stein?" a familiar throaty voice jeered.

Stein looked up and saw Joker's cadaverous face grinning at him, the gaping wound Crona made in him still present.

"Ya know, I was hanging out in Hell one night…you know, after you sent me there…and guess who I bumped into…your old ladyfriend!"

A pair of soft, long-nailed female hands reached around his neck and began stroking his face, almost clawing it.

"I've missed you sooo much, my old pet." Medusa cooed in her sultry, yet nerve-wracking voice.

"Oooo hoo hoo hoo!" Joker goaded. "Is it getting hot out here? I wouldn't know since I've got no feeling in my face! Hehe he he!"

"Screw you both." Stein snarled.

Stein walked straight through Joker and down the street, ignoring his and Medusa's mocking laughter.

"I'll think of **some** kind of screw-related comeback, don't worry!" Joker shouted in the distance.

Stein walked on, trying to think of the place Crane was likely to come looking for him first. His lab and the school seemed like the two most likely places. He noticed an open manhole and it hit him…the catacombs! Without giving a second thought, Stein began climbing down, but the decades-old ladder broke and he fell. The back of his head hit the moist cobblestone ground and he blacked out for a few moments.

"Ungh…damn." he muttered.

He sat up, rubbed his head for a bit, got to his feet, and began trekking through the catacombs with only a penlight to light his way. Suddenly, the catacombs began to shake and the sound of Crane's high-pitched, manic laughter echoed all around. The sound was relentlessly loud in Stein's ears, painful even…

"Shall I send this city to Hell, or shall I bring Hell to this city?" Crane's deep, gravelly voice rumbled from above.

Stein began running through the tunnels, the occasional tremor causing him to falter slightly. A loud crash in front of him forced him to come to a halt, was the tunnel about to collapse? He got his answer when a giant gauntleted fist with four syringes attached crashed through the roof of the tunnel. Crane's titanic fist pulled itself back up and masses of fire and chunks of burning stone began pouring through the hole. Stein dove through the small inferno, suffering some moderate burns, got back on his feet in seconds, and kept running. Stein hastened his pace as the tremors became more frequent. He heard a deep roar behind him so he turned his head around and saw a writhing mass of hazy orange flames flying after him. He turned back around and ran faster, pushing his slightly aging body to its limits. He spied a fissure just wide enough and deep enough for him to fit in, so he dove headlong into it, and let the flames roll over him. When the flames passed, he jumped to his feet and began running again until the ground beneath him crumbled and he grabbed onto what remained. He looked below and saw what seemed to be a river of molten rock or steel below him.

"Is the world falling apart, or is it your mind?" Crane rumbled. "Either way, better keep running."

Stein pulled himself back up and made another run for it. It wasn't long before the tunnel started shaking again, this time it felt as though it were being ripped from the earth. Deep cracks began forming in the roof, walls, and floor as he scrambled through the darkness, painting the tunnel in fiery highlights. No way was Stein hallucinating this, Crane must have rigged the whole damned tunnel to blow! Sparks and embers began pouring through and Stein's eyes began to sting and water and he began gagging on the stench of brimstone. He spied a door at the end of the tunnel, which he dove toward as more embers began pouring in. He scrambled to his feet grabbed the handle and ripped the door open. White light flooded his vision; there was something familiar about it, something that told him this nightmare was over.

A white room slowly formed before Stein's eyes, a small surgical room with a single metal slab in the center, and shackled on the slab…was Marie. She was naked and moaning slightly…barely conscious…oblivious…most likely drugged. Stein's heart pounded as he marveled at her naked body; it was everything he imagined, soft in all the right places and firm in all the right places. His hands trembled as he ran his fingers over her lean neck, shoulders and arms, her plump breasts, the almost perfect hourglass her torso and hips formed, her tender abdomen, her firm, yet silky smooth thighs. He spied a large scalpel lying on a small table beside the slab. He looked from the scalpel to Marie's soft little belly and damned-near perfect torso. He began to wonder if her insides were as beautiful as her outside.

"You tell yourself that you are not the same as me," Crane said from behind him, his tone soft, but deathly cold "but sometimes fear reveals the truth."

Crane was right; Stein was lost in the sight of Marie's beautiful body. He wanted to explore it…to dissect it…maybe improve it.

"What do you want to do, Stein?" Crane hissed. "Pick up that scalpel and show me."

Stein walked around the slab, picked up the scalpel, and began circling Marie. He wanted to do this, the urge was almost unbearable, but he needed some privacy. He whirled around and thrust the scalpel between Crane's eyes, he then pulled it out of him and he fell backward, faded from existence before hitting the floor. The room around Stein began to darken and next thing he knew, he was standing under the manhole he first fell into. After taking a moment to try and fathom what had just happened and what the hell he had been thinking, he clawed his way back up. The moment he set foot back on Death City's empty, powdered streets, his cellphone began vibrating. He took it out and saw an unfamiliar number on the screen, but answered it anyway.

"I am waiting for you in the clock tower, Stein." Crane's deathly voice croaked. "I have the antidote to the toxin I injected you with. It's sure to work better than the antidote to my _old_ toxin."

"What do you want, Crane?" Stein growled.

"Come at once, Stein." Crane commanded. "And come alone. If I see a single person with you, I'll smash the vial."

"Fine." said Stein, hanging up.

* * *

Stein gazed up at the clock tower located in the oldest part of the residential district. There was a chance that this was going to be his last night on Earth, he wished that he had time to say goodbye to his students (if any of them were still alive) but he could feel the madness within him resurfacing and he wasn't about to risk hurting any of them, nor was he about to let them follow him and complicate his business with Crane. He kicked down the door and entered the base of the tower where two muscle-bound men (formerly conjoined twins, judging by the arms they were missing and the scars running down the sides of their bodies.) were waiting for him. One wore jack-o-lantern face paint and carried a large rusty sickle, his brother wore clown face paint and carried a sledgehammer, and they both had kishin-egg souls, they were the fiends who attacked Sid.

"Where is the zombie?" the sickle-wielding fiend asked.

Stein did not reply but produced two scalpels from his sleeves. Both fiends lunged at him simultaneously, but he flipped over them and thrust his scalpels into the backs of their necks. He then dropped them and slammed his palms into the wounds, discharging his soul wavelength. The twins fell to the ground and dropped their weapons. Stein picked up the clown-faced fiend's hammer and brought it down on the jack-o-lantern-faced fiend's skull, smashing it to a pulp with one blow. He then snatched up the other fiend's sickle and cleaved his brother's head right off. With both fiends dead, he snatched up his scalpels and proceeded up the spiral staircase to the upper level, where Crane was waiting. Crane sat by a window, sipping coffee from a thermos. As Stein approached, he held up a gourmet maple doughnut.

"Last one, want it?" he asked nonchalantly.

"The antidote!" Stein snapped.

"There isn't one." said Crane, taking a bite of his doughnut. "I lied."

"Figures." Stein scoffed as Crane took another sip of his coffee.

"This tower brings back memories, doesn't it?" Crane inquired. "Memories more pleasurable for you than me, I'm sure."

"Refresh my memory." said Stein.

"I invited you up here after school one day." Crane elaborated, as he finished his doughnut. "As soon as you arrived, I challenged you to a fight, just you and me. I suppose you were in a particularly foul mood that day, because if Joker hadn't shown up and knocked you senseless, I would likely have been killed."

"I see." said Stein. "So, you really want to do this again?"

"Of course I do." Crane replied, his voice dripping with venom.

"Tell me something." he sneered. "If you had died instead of Joker, do you think he'd be going to all this trouble for you?" He wasn't trying to throw Crane off or gain any kind of mental advantage. At this point, he was simply trying to spite Crane in any way he could before one of them died. "I don't think he would. Hell, he'd probably have killed you if he thought he could get a good laugh out of it."

"And you'll eventually kill Spirit and Marie if you think you'll get a fun experiment out of it." Crane countered. "Do you deny this fact?"

"No…" said Stein. "No I don't…but you won't live to see it!"

Crane reacted to aggressive change in Stein's tone and threw the rest of his coffee into his face, scalding his eye. With a furious growl, Stein lunged toward Crane, but Crane flipped over him and cut him across the back with his scythe blade. Stein raised his scalpels, a feint yellow glow surrounded them and he used them to parry Crane's blade.

"Channeling your wavelength through two ordinary scalpels…" Crane analyzed. "I should expect nothing less from a genius like you."

Stein jabbed Crane in the shoulder with one scalpel and leapt up to a massive turning gear as Crane staggered back. Stein ripped the gear from its place and flung it at Crane, who sliced it in half with his blade.

"My students should've beaten all your cronies by now." Stein taunted. "You're alone, Crane, again!"

"They were nothing more than distractions." said Crane, shaking his head slightly. "This fight is all that matters."

Stein snatched up a chain and dove headfirst into Crane, knocking him to the floor. He immediately rolled him over, wrapped the chain around his throat and began pulling as hard as he could. Crane squirmed and wheezed before going limp, but Stein kept pulling until Crane got a second wind and cut the chain with his blade. He then threw Stein off of him, yanked him up by his collar, and slammed his head into a window pain. Stein whirled around to punch Crane, but he flipped high into the air and brought his boots down on Stein's face, cracking his glasses and smashing his head into the window again. He tried to run Stein through with his blade, but Stein pushed his blade-arm away with one arm and used the other to send Crane flying into the opposite wall with a pulse of his wavelength. He whipped his scalpels back out and lunged toward Crane, but he lifted his right hand and sprayed some of his toxin into Stein's face. Stein stumbled back and rubbed his eyes, visions of Spirit and Marie's bloody faces flashing in his head. It gave Crane just enough time to sweep his leg and trip Stein. Before Stein could make another move, Crane threw himself on top of him and thrust his blade into his chest, just under his ribcage. He tried to plunge his syringes into Stein's neck, but Stein grabbed his wrist, pushed it away from him, and slammed his skull into Crane's forehead. He pulled Crane's blade out of his chest, forced him on his back and began pounding away at his face, watching what little was visible growing bruised, raw and juicy. For a moment, it looked as though Crane's ghoulish mask peeled apart to reveal Spirit's face. A moment's hesitation from Stein and Crane reached up and grabbed his nose, crushing it. Stein groaned loudly and fell back. He figured Crane would try to run him through again, so he rolled. He jumped to his feet and flung one of his scalpels where Crane was last standing, but it hit only a wall. Crane grabbed Stein from behind, spun him forcefully around, grabbed his head, and slammed his face into his knee. Stein fell to the floor again and Crane pinned him down. He tried to inject him again, but Stein grabbed his wrist and pushed it toward his chest. Before Crane knew what Stein was doing he pushed Crane's own syringes into his chest. He grabbed Crane's throat and held him down for a few moments before Crane slammed his shin into Stein's groin. Crane threw Stein off of him and when Stein found the strength to stand, Crane hurled the table he'd been sitting at right at him. The table shattered on impact, but Stein fought to remain standing. Crane's heaving chest and dilated pupils told Stein the toxin was already taking effect.

"Diiiie!" Crane rasped.

Crane morphed his left hand back into a scythe blade and began slashing madly, his slashes wild, but predictable. Stein dodged twice, but then began simply punching Crane, ignoring the pain in his groin and the numerous deep cuts he received. The energy he saved on evading, he spent cracking Crane's ribs, knocking out one of his teeth, and blacking his eye. Crane tried to kick Stein, but Stein grabbed his leg, flipped him back, and kicked him in midair, sending him tumbling toward the window. He snatched up one of his scalpels and rushed to stab Crane with it, but Crane swung his blade with such speed that all four of Stein's fingers were sliced right off. Stein's senses were so dulled by madness that he barely even felt it, he just kept wailing on Crane until Crane thrust one of his syringes into Stein's left eye.

A moment of panic snapped Stein out of his manic state and he released Crane and clutched his pierced eye, a stream of blood slinking down his face. Crane thrust his syringe-hand into the wound he made under Stein's ribcage and tried to thrust his blade into Stein's chest, but Stein grabbed his blade-arm with both hands and kept holding it away. He held the blade away for maybe a minute and began backing forcefully against the window. With one last burst of strength, he whirled around, thrust Crane's blade straight through his chest, and it came to a stop right in Crane's heart. Crane let out a wheezing groan as streams of both men's blood began spouting out of Stein's chest as he held the blade there. Finally, Stein ripped the blade out of them and fell forward. He crawled around slowly and saw Crane lying against the window, his entire midsection lost in a mess of crimson, his icy blue eyes staring into oblivion. Stein crawled toward the window and leaned against it beside his enemy.

"Why…Stein…?" Crane wheezed.

"I did it…for…them…Crane." Stein panted. "Spirit…and Marie."

"But…you'll never see them…again…now."

"Maybe that's…for the best." Stein muttered. "I've hurt Spirit…so many times…and…it was only a matter of time before I hurt Marie…and maybe Crona. They're all safer without me."

After a few long, chilling moments of silence, Crane began to chuckle weakly, coughing up a little spray of blood.

"My quest for vengeance…your heroics…look where they've…gotten us."

"We really are…the same, Crane." Stein muttered. "We're both just pawns of the madness in the end. Heh…if Joker's watching us from Hell…he's probably…laughing his ass off."

"When we…get there…maybe…we can all have…a good…laugh."

Crane breathed his last breath and Stein lay beside him, waiting for the end. As darkness slowly began veiling his vision, he watched his and Crane's blood form a pool on the dry, ashen wood floor.


	12. Epilogue

It was New Year's Eve and everyone was spending it with someone; Maka and Soul sipped mulled cider and listened to Maka's mother's stories of her travels. Mifune put the finishing touches on the samurai mech model Black Star gave him for Christmas while Angela was sound asleep. Black Star cuddled on the couch with Tsubaki and gave her the longest, warmest kiss ever. Lord Death sat in front of a steady open-fire with Kid and Patty in his arms. As the two of them dosed off, Lord Death looked up at the intricate silver and sapphire clock he made his son for Christmas. Blair, Risa, Arisa, and Liz had a private party at Chupa Cabra's. Kim lay in bed beside Jackie, gently stroking and kissing her lover's shoulder. Marie's broken heart made her recovery…difficult, but she had Crona to care for her. He sat beside her bed until she dosed off and took Prometheus to bed with him.

Snow silently fell over Hook Cemetery. A trinity of pitch black tombstones stood out above all others; to the left was _The Joker_ , to the right was _Jonathan Crane_ , and in between the two of them was _Franken Stein_ …three of the maddest men in Death City's history. Standing before Stein's grave was Spirit Albarn. Now that he was alone, he could drop the stoic façade he forced himself to wear when he learned of Stein's death and when he attended his brief funeral. Now that he was alone, he could cry all he wanted…and cry he did. Despite all the trouble Stein got into and all the harm he caused Spirit, the two had a kinship that not even they could understand. To have such a bond with a man like Stein, a man who for all the world knew wasn't capable of love (though he certainly tried) shamed Spirit to no end. Now that Stein was gone, Spirit had no one who he could receive any semblance of love from. He clutched his upper arms and continued to cry, oblivious to what was happening under his feet.

Stein clawed his way out of the ground just outside Hook Cemetery. It was particularly taxing since he had nothing but a thumb left on one hand. After Joker's body was discovered buried in the cemetery, Stein knew that sooner or later Crane would come back for him. He never intended to let Spirit or Marie fight Crane with him when he returned, so took steps to ensure he had the advantage. He taught himself to channel his wavelength through ordinary weapons and after tirelessly schooling Sid on everything he knew about anatomy and biology, he had Sid remove his heart and replace it on the opposite side of his chest. He ensured Crane's demise and his own survival…but even in Death, Crane had won, as far as Stein was concerned. Stein's body was recovering, but he doubted his mind would ever fully recover. He could feel the madness within him stirring, slowly strengthening. The unspeakable urges he felt under the influence of Crane's toxin had not gone away…they probably never would. Stein's madness was an inextricable part of him and all the love, friendship, and happiness in the world couldn't stop it now. No one was safe from Stein anymore, so he decided to leave Death City forever and let everybody believe he was dead...save one. He whispered his plan to Sid when he discovered him in the clock tower. He made his way out to his lab where Sid was waiting, confident that any footprints he made would soon be covered up, this rare Nevada snow was a blessing.

 _Well, Crane…_ he thought. _You wanted to separate me from the ones I love forever…you're about to get your wish._

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Sid asked as Stein reached his lab. "If you go back now, there's at least a chance that they might forgive you."

"They're all safer without me." Stein replied. "Besides, Marie's got Crona now, and Spirit's still got Maka."

"I don't think Maka will ever love him again."

"She'll find it in her heart, sooner or later." said Stein. "Until then, I want you to look after him…be his friend if he'll let you."

"Of course." said Sid. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes…" said Stein, knowing Sid wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "I'm going to be living off the grid–as they say–from now on. I've decided on Mount Roraima…that'll be my new home. A month from now, I want you to go there and just check up on me. When you get there…if I'm not me anymore…well, you know."

"I'll end you as quickly as possible." Sid assured him.

"And you won't let anyone know…ever." Stein persisted.

"No one will ever know…I promise." said Sid.

"Thanks, Sid." Stein sighed. "For now…this is goodbye."

Stein briefly clasped hands with Sid, put on the coat Sid handed him, and set out into the night…never to be seen or heard from ever again.


End file.
